It's a very spacious and roomy boat in the interior with a large cockpit...perfect for entertaining or relaxing.
Pull man berth has multiple drawers for storage for personal items and 2 hanging lockers.
Original
bunk in salon modified to provide extra counter space on top and a
"garage" (for tools, dive gear, fishing gear, etc.) with large drawers
and a cover.

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Yes, I know I am way overdue on updating the blog so let's just call it better late than never and move on.

So, we'll start with the new dog: Ranger has become the newest participant in our live-aboard life. She's become quite the boat dog! She loves going on dinghy rides and as you can see, she's quite brave...and well balanced! She's been a little shy and slightly skittish around people, but she's slowly adjusting to her new environment and being a family dog. We have to figure that she's never ridden in a car with her head out the window, never been asked to come sleep in the bed, never had a squeaky toy, and certainly never eaten ice cream...which by the way, she is mad for!

One thing is for certain...she adores her new daddy, and the feeling is quite mutual!

She's a beautiful dog, sleek and svelte, and she's incredibly sweet and affectionate. It will be interesting to see how she develops now that she has a home.

Got a littler dog and a bigger boat!

Alright...next big news: we bought another boat! It's a 44' Marine Trader, Mark II Cruiser and it's practically palatial! With 2 staterooms with queen sized beds, a bathroom, kitchen, and living room - we are living large! I love having a living room!

Now it needs some work...it is a 1979 boat after all. It's had some water damage, could use a new coat of paint, and our recent bought of wet weather made it pretty obvious that it leaks like a sieve, but we are up for the challenge. Jeff has already started work tearing up the teak decks and is revamping the narrow steps into the galley as I type.

Plans are already in the works for a new upstairs enclosure and hard top complete with solar panels and a wind generator.

The washer and dryer have been given away to a good home and shelves for storage have been installed...a much better use of the space. The antiquated TV's, microwave, VCR, and freezer have also been relocated to grateful recipients. I've already picked out the new fridge/freezer/ice-maker combo that is in our near future, and a giant flat screen is in the mail.

So here's a bunch of pics of "Ze SkunK" - the name the trawler came with - and I'll keep you posted with lots more pics of the progress of "DOGONIT"...the name it'll have on it soon enough. I guess I'll be changing the name on the blog...next time it'll be Life on the M/V DOGONIT, and someone else can start a life on the S/V Thin line. It is for sale. Anybody want to buy a really nice sailboat?

Spare Bedroom

Master Bedroom...nice cushy, big bed!

Living Room/Salon [facing forward.]

Kitchen/Galley

Fly Bridge/Upstairs

Back Deck

Inside Driving Station/Side Door

Looking Forward

Old School VHF...My favorite for doing the Cruiser's Net!

OK...so one last thing, but certainly not least, we had our first guests on the new boat. The Chambers', Dammit Janet and Poor Donnie, came for a visit. You may remember them from past blogs...Donnie and Jeff were partners once upon a time ago on the Police Department and Janet was the one who wrote notes all over our stuff on a previous visit. [ See Good Food and Good Company & Panty Gram and a Haircut]

We didn't have the best weather while they were here, and our guest accommodations might have been a little drippy, but we had a great time nonetheless! We took dinghy rides in the rain, dropped them off on a deserted island, rolled dice, ate a lot of Kale...brought fresh from their garden in Kentucky, listened to some awesome music, drank our livers into submission, and thoroughly enjoyed each others company!

One of the best things we did was Sunday brunch on Little Palm Island...wow! The food was fabulous, the scenery divine, the service impeccable, the champagne ice cold!

The weather...well, we'll go for so-so on that one...but beautiful anyway!

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

So, this blog should have been about the fabulous weekend I had for my 44th birthday with a music festival, a phone call from Turkey, and a decadent all-you-can-drink-champagne brunch at Little Palm Island...

...But I have breaking news and a video instead!

Jeff is getting a new dog! Her name is Ranger and she's 4-years old. She's half Dutch Shepard, which is what Janus was, and half Belgian Malinois. She only weighs 45 lbs...half of Janus' size so she should be well suited for life on a boat. She's had hundreds of hours of training in handler and home protection and she athletic and agile...as you'll soon see in her video.

We've been assured that she is very social and well adjusted with a great personality...her people at Liberty Dog Camp hate to part with her, but it is what they do for a living! She'll arrive at the Miami airport on Tuesday, February 5th, and we will be there to pick her up. Jeff can hardly contain himself and I can't wait either!

Be sure to tune back in for an update of her arrival and lots of pictures!

Saturday, January 5, 2013

As we all know, we, here on the S/V Thin Line, live in a desired local which makes us the envy of all our friends and most of our family and makes us pretty content and happy on most days. But, there is a problem with living in such a tourist destination...the tourists!

Now, I don't mean any of you all. We love all of our visitors and never tire of showing you all around...you are welcome anytime. [Within reason.]

What irks me during our busier times is the long lines and no parking at the grocery and the additional traffic in this one road town.

More to the point, every now and then you come across that annoyingly rude individual we commonly refer to as a "touron" which is a combination of the words "tourist" and "moron"...the later being the more prevalent quality.

Let me tell you a story to illustrate our new vocabulary word:
Jeff, who we all know is a captain on the Starfish snorkel boat, got a call about a special request for his New Year's Day afternoon run. A young man wanted to propose to his soon-to-be-intended in an interesting, and memorable way. He purchased a moderately sized treasure chest and firmly affixed a diamond ring inside with the hopes that a helpful captain would secret the box off to a sandy location at the bottom of the ocean to be found by his unsuspecting, snorkeling girlfriend. Jeff did so and once back on the boat, kept a vigilant eye on the buried cache. Our captain was directing the young lovers to the proverbial "X" that marked the treasure spot and everything was going swimmingly...

... until Jeff observed a diver swoop in, open the box, take the ring, and swim away!

[WTH, right?!]

Jeff immediately donned his diving garb and pursued the fleeing thief. It took a bit of time, but he caught up with the diver before he could make it back to his own chartered dive boat. After signaling the perpetrator to the surface, Jeff took possession of the misappropriated ring. The diving touron simply stated that, "people loose stuff around here all the time," and didn't bother to apologize for his horrendous act of piracy.

The ring was then returned to it's rightful owner and the proposal made and excepted.
The young couple didn't let the incident detract from their happiness and with the near-disaster averted, optimistically declared that they now had a story to tell when they arrived home and for years to come about a treasure hunt and piracy on the high seas!

As for our traitorous tourist, there were no reparation or consequences for his act of thoughtless treachery...not even a well-deserved thump on the head - much to Jeff's credit...but I am counting on Karma to catch up with him.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

He came into Jeff's life in 2001. He'd come a long way...all the way from Holland...and the broker claimed he was "2" years old- although the vet disagreed and said he was at least 3 and probably closer to 4. Jeff tested 72 dogs before choosing Janus because of his strong drives and personality, and believe it or not, he used to be mean, evil, and nasty.

I met the boys in 2005 and the dog and I became fast friends...mostly based on bribery - I always came over with a squeaky toy or a tennis ball in my pocket.

The dog took to the sailboat and the laid-back lifestyle immediately although it did take him some time to get over all the "holes" he perceived to be all over the vessel. He eventually got used to the hatches being open.

They retired together in 2007.

He got caught in a couple of bad storms while sailing and was never quite as relaxed about it as he was in the beginning...one of the reasons we made it to Marathon and have yet to leave.

He led a full and happy life...and was certainly loved.

Sometimes he was moochie...
You certainly didn't want to leave a loaf of bread unattended!

Sometimes he was skootchie...
He could definitely take up his half of the bed, bench, or couch.

And he was definitely smoochie!

He had licks for everyone!
[But especially Jeff.]

A little over a month ago he developed a limp and had a lump on his front leg. Jeff took him to the vet and the x-ray confirmed it was bone cancer...fully metastasized with his whole body likely riddled with it and the bone practically eaten through.

So, we moved to the floating dock to make getting on and off the boat easier and for the last month, we've just been taking it easy, doing things the dog likes to do, and spending all the time possible.

The dog has gotten a little worse every day. Those same drives that made him a good police dog kept him going...kept him wanting to keep going.

The good news is that he never lost his appetite although he could barely stand and was just as much of a chow hound yesterday as he ever was.

Yesterday he took his last dinghy ride to a favorite bar/restaurant. He had his own burger(s) and fries and lots of attention.

He slept comfortably in the bed most of the night.

Today he's gone, but no longer in pain.
It's a very sad day on the S/V Thin Line.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Here's a quick update just to get you up to speed on life on the S/V Thin Line...

First
off, we are currently located at the Marathon Boat Yard to get a little
warranty work on the paint job. The non-skid that was recently applied
to the decks just wasn't very non-skiddy, and had to go. You can see us
there in the middle in this cool aerial pic. ~~~~>

[Photo by Tina LoSacco]

The dog has been enjoying his boatyard experience and being able to get off the boat anytime he wants to hit dry land...perhaps, a little too much. We've had to take precautions so Janus doesn't use his new found freedom to ditch us in the middle of the night.

Our boatyard picnic table

We've had a pretty good time in the yard as well.
We've had parties and cook outs complete with corn-hole matches...try that on a boat!
A variety of friends have come to visit and we've been fortunate enough to have a chef as a neighbor, so many good meals have been cooked, served, and shared.

[And the AC at night is nothing to complain about either!]

In the meantime, the dinghy has gone through a major rehabilitation with lots of
sanding, removal of rotten wood, new fiberglass, and a new color scheme.

Rotten wood removed out of corner.

It's practically bullet-proof now!

A lot of sanding...

Boatyard Dog!

Dolphin and Rooster detail

Palm Tree and Dog Paw detail

We should be out of the boatyard with any luck on August the first and,
weather/temperature pending, either back on the mooring ball or at the seawall at City
Marina.